I loved this book so much. Eerie, unique and disturbing. I have Always been a huge fan of her writing. I loved The dual storylines, from the past to the present, experiencing her sisters breakdown and death through her investigations, this book is on my top lists. Full review on my Instagram at the end of the week.

A good creepy read! As stated in previous reviews, “ be careful what you wish for”. The story is told in two time periods as it twists and turns around the “pool” and its healing powers past and present. The book kept me wanting more throughout and I could not get to its conclusion soon enough!

Wow. This book is gripping and pulled me in from the beginning and I couldn’t stop reading. I read it in one day. A psychological thriller that will keep you in the edge of your seat, not knowing what is real. Do you believe in the supernatural? Do you believe in wishes coming true? This book has some of both things and has some deeply troubled characters, ones I wasn’t sure were sane. This book scared me at times and left me sad at others. It is an intense read and it will creep you out but that is makes it so good.

An atmospheric, gothic read that gave me chills and had me second guessing my second guesses..

Growing up, my family had a huge deep inground pool surrounded by cedars and we loved to swim at night, floating in the dark.. but for me, with my active imagination, there was always a sliver of fear, of a hand that might reach up from the black and grab you down. Well thank-you Jennifer McMahon, that electric, childhood memory was activated like a light switch, I had chills of dread on my arms at the goings on in this spring fed pool of darkness in this book. She described the scenes so eloquently that my heart was racing and I was speeding through the pages of them.

The Sparrow's Crest estate and it's amazing, healing natural spring water pool is our setting. There are a few narratives happening; one is in the 1920s, with a couple who are starting their life as a newly married couple, one is present day with Jackie having to return to the estate after her sister Lexie is found dead, drowned in the pool, and one is of the sisters in their young days, growing up at Sparrow's Crest visiting their Grandma each summer. All of these stories have the spring pool winding it's way through them. Many people use it for healing and also for wishes but we soon learn that you have to be careful what you wish for..

Lexi and Jackie had a tumultuous relationship before her death and now, Jackie is dealing with guilt over that and also sorting through the mess that was Lexi's life before her untimely end. Add to that the fact that Jackie ignored Lexi's calls the night of her death and the stage is set. The family relationships in this novel are strained and wound tight and I enjoyed watching the tension pull as they interacted. Did I mention that Lexi wasn't the first one to drown in this pool... CREEPY

I think the only thing I stumbled on were the interactions in present day that were there to provide the "daytime view" in the gothic novel, the "everything is ok" perspectives. The book lost me a bit with those although I knew they were necessary, I think they felt almost perfunctory and 3/4 the way through, I lost steam and had the book at a 4 but it redeemed itself very quickly once I dove back in, I was SO glad that I did.. the last 1/4 of the book made the ground tilt! I went back and forth on my thoughts of what I was so certain would happen. I was angry at the direction and then all at once, loving it.. Wow!.. after finishing, it was absolutely a 5⭐ for me. If Netflix or someone doesn't make a movie out of this immediately, everyone is crazy!

I finished this book at warp speed and sat back and thought, wow.. I loved that! And the gorgeously creepy cover, GREAT read! From the start you are wondering, are we reading old children's ghost stories or are they warning tales of truth? The whole book is like that feeling when you enter a haunted house at a fair, it's all going to be ok right?? Dare you to sit with your feet dangling in the pool at night reading this one... But, even if you prefer it in the light of day, I ++ recommend you get a copy and try not to drown in this deliciously dark and murky tale ♒🌹

**This publishes on April 6th, 2021 and I thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada very much for this advanced reader copy**

Wonderfully creepy, The Drowning Kind explores the theme 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧.

Told in two POVs, we meet Ethel in 1929.
Married to the town's doctor and struggling with infertility. The couple take a holiday at a new luxury hotel that boasts a natural springs pool known for its healing qualities.
We also meet Jackie, in the present day.
She's returned home to be with her family after the drowning death of her sister.

The tension is high in this book and some scenes are truly scary. A few times I found myself holding my breath with nervousness, while thinking '𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳!!'

The books weakest aspect was it's characters. They didn't have a lot of depth and most spoke/acted in a way that was only to move the plot along. Because of this I never really vibed with any of them.

But the plot was enjoyable and there was a fantastic sense of atmosphere so I'm HAPPY to round UP my rating to 4⭐

** thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC

Atmospheric and suspenseful, I really enjoy this book. The plot keep me engage all read long and it had a satisfying ending. I would recommend it!

This is my first novel by Jennifer McMahon and wow. So brilliantly haunting and emotion invoking. The story is beautifully entwined through many people lives and I found myself getting lost within the story line. Now I must read everything else this author has ever written. Very impressed!

In 2019, after a year of estrangement, Jax Metcalf returns to Sparrow Crest, the sprawling estate that has been her family’s home for four generations. The reason? Her sister, Lexie, has accidentally drowned in the spring-fed pool that has always played a prominent role in Jax’s memories of Sparrow Crest.

Yet things are not as they seem: secrets lurk beneath the surface of the pool, involving deaths and darkness that span a century. In 1929, Ethel O’Shay Monroe finds herself desperate to save her baby girl—and only the springs have the answer.

But for every miracle they bestow, there is a price to be paid. And this has never been clearer than for Jax, whose family is bound irrevocably to this otherworldly power.

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The Drowning Kind is my first book by Jennifer McMahon, who others may know through The Invited. I thought the book was an overall entertaining read, but I have a few gripes.

The characters tended to explain their own personalities to us (I am this, I was that; I did this, I do that). This sort of makes sense in the context of Ethel’s chapters, which are excerpts from her diary entries. However, the overall effect these large swathes of exposition managed to achieve was that of info-dumping, which I’m never a fan of.

At other times, though, the prose is evocative and atmospheric.

There’s a clear theme that runs throughout the story, that of the characters’ enigmatic and unshakable compulsion to be near the springs, which possess a malignant power. As Ethel says—We and this place, we’re bound together.

The storytelling was also a smidge repetitive for me, the same events—from 1929 and 2019—being rehashed over and over. What’s more, I personally don’t really enjoy protagonists who obstinately refuse to consider the paranormal as anything other than a sign of mental/emotional deterioration. Like, yes, I get that characters can’t just immediately get onboard with the supernatural happenings—but I also found myself frustrated by Jax’s denial up until the very end. This also contributed to the book’s repetitiveness.

Bottom line: An elegiac and atmospheric story of how one family’s fate is indelibly tied to that of an otherworldly pool, The Drowning Kind kept my interest decently piqued but ultimately wasn’t the thrilling read I’d been anticipating.